Sourdough Ham and Corn Chowder

A close up image of sourdough ham and cheese chowder topped with green onions and crispy bacon. There is a soup ladle scooping some of the soup out of the pot.

Sourdough Ham and Corn Chowder

This creamy sourdough ham and corn chowder is packed with tender potatoes, sweet corn and savory ham, then thickened with sourdough discard for a rich, hearty soup that's ready in under an hour.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings serves

Calories 796kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Ingredients

200 g Bacon (diced)
150 g Onion (larg onion, diced)
100 g Celery (3 celery ribs, diced)
20 g Minced Garlic (1 tbsp)
100 g Sourdough Discard
50 g Butter (softened)
473 mls Cream (1 pint heavy cream)
1000 mls Chicken Stock (see notes)
300 g Ham (diced)
500 g Potatoes (peeled and diced)
430 g Canned Corn (1 can, approx. 15 oz, drained)
3 g Black Pepper (1 tsp or to taste)
1 tbsp Chives (to serve - optional)

Instructions

In a heavy base pot, fry the diced bacon until crispy. Once done, remove from the pot and set aside. Leave the bacon grease in the bottom of the pan.
Add the onions, celery and garlic to the pan and saute on a medium heat until they are soft and lifting all the bacon bits off the bottom of the pot.
While these are cooking, add the sourdough discard together with the butter and just a little of the cream and stock in a small bowl. Whisk them together until smooth. It will be thick but should be well combined.
Once the vegetables have softened, turn the heat down to low and add the discard mixture to the pan, whisking it into the vegetables. Slowly add the rest of the cream to the pan while continuing to whisk the chowder base forming. Once you have a fairly smooth mixture, slowly add the chicken stock and continue to whisk to ensure everything is well combined.
Once the stock is added, turn the heat back up to medium and bring it up to a simmer, whisking every few minutes to ensure the chowder stays smooth.
Once the chowder has come to a simmer, add the diced potatoes and simmer for around 15 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes to ensure the bottom of the soup doesn't catch.
Once the potatoes are tender, add the drained corn kernals, diced ham and half the crispy bacon. Stir through and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the ham and corn are heated through.
When you're ready to serve, ladle the chowder into bowls and top with the rest of the crispy bacon and chopped chives.

Nutrition